Homemade corn muffins are perfect for breakfast or as a side dish alongside your favorite chili! This recipe comes together in no time.
One of my favorite make ahead dinners on Savory Simple is my vegetarian chili recipe. It’s healthy, filling, and incredibly satisfying. Sometimes when I have extra time, I like to also prepare some type of bread to serve alongside the chili for dipping, and these corn muffins are always a great option.
The subtle sweetness of the corn muffins pairs perfectly with the savoriness of the chili!
How to Make Corn Muffins
These are so easy to prepare, but they have one step that might be slightly different than what you’re used to. I’ve adapted this recipe from Cook’s Illustrated, and they use the microwave while preparing the batter. In their words:
“…in order to get extra liquid into the batter, we precooked a portion of the cornmeal with additional milk to make a polenta-like porridge. By hydrating and gelling the starch in the cornmeal, we trapped free water and produced a super-moist muffin.”
The results are definitely worth the extra step. Here’s what you do:
- In medium-sized bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 cups cornmeal and the dry ingredients.
- Combine the milk and remaining 1/2 cup cornmeal in large bowl. Microwave for 1 1/2 minutes, then whisk and continue microwaving in 30 second increments, whisking, until thickened to a batter-like consistency, 1 to 3 minutes.
- Whisk in the remaining wet ingredients followed by the eggs, then fold in dry ingredient mixture until evenly combined. Divide the batter evenly into the prepared muffin tin. As you can see in the above photo, the cups will be pretty full.
- Bake until tops are golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Recipe Notes and Substitutions
The recipe I’ve adapted from is for savory corn muffins. To be honest, I didn’t like how savory they were, so I added back in some sugar on my second attempt. The original recipe calls for 3 tablespoons; I ultimately doubled it for 6 tablespoons (or 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons).
The results are not overly sweet, but they’re more of a traditional corn muffin flavor. If you’d prefer to try the savory version, reduce the sugar to 3 tablespoons total, or try somewhere in between 3 to 6 tablespoons for a happy medium.
More Muffin Recipes
If you love this recipe, be sure to check out more muffin recipes like my Banana Bread Muffins, Perfect Pumpkin Muffins and Cranberry Pecan Muffins.
Corn Muffins
Ingredients
- 10 ounces yellow cornmeal (2 cups using Scoop & Sweep method)
- 5 ounces all-purpose flour (1 cup using Scoop & Sweep method)
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ¼ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 ¼ cups whole, 2% or 1% milk
- 1 cup sour cream
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, beaten
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin (I used baking spray). In medium-sized bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 cups cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Combine the milk and remaining 1/2 cup cornmeal in large bowl. Microwave the mixture for 1 1/2 minutes. Whisk thoroughly and continue to microwave in 30 second increments, whisking every time, until thickened to a batter-like consistency, 1 to 3 minutes.
- Whisk in the sour cream, melted butter, and sugar until evenly combined, then whisk in the eggs. Fold in flour mixture until evenly combined. Using a measuring scoop or large spoon, divide the batter evenly into the prepared muffin tin (about 1/2 cup batter per cup).
- Bake until tops are golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 13 to 17 minutes, rotating muffin tin halfway through baking. Let the muffins cool on wire rack for 5 minutes, then remove the muffins from the muffin tin and cool 5 minutes longer. Serve warm.
Notes
Please read my full post for additional recipe notes, tips, and serving suggestions!
Nutrition
Recipe Troubleshooting
For immediate help troubleshooting a recipe, please email me using the form on my contact page. I’ll try to respond to urgent questions as quickly as possible! For all general questions, please leave a comment here :)
I just can’t serve chili without a side of corn muffins. These are delicious!
These muffins look great! I love the texture and color. Perfect with a nice bowl of chili!